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Tecmo Sues Game Hackers Under DMCA

Posted by samzenpus on from the no-more-cheating dept.

blueZhift writes "This Reuters report on CNet states that Tecmo has filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act accusing the site owners and perhaps some users of game hacking site www.ninjahacker.net (now offline) of knowingly infringing on their game software. This should be another interesting test of the DMCA and just how far it can be pushed to restrict what end users can do with/to their software purchases. This might ultimately affect the legality of cheat devices like the Game Shark and even the mere sharing of cheats or exploits."

26 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. DMCA Violations by kngthdn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Considering how most American slashdotters (myself included) consider the DMCA to be a violation of our rights, I hope everyone will understand the urgency of my plight...I need somewhere to post this cheat code...

    left-right-left-left-B-A-left-down-trigger-left-B

    I can only hope Slashdot has the resources to protect my free speech. ;-)

    Really, though...the DMCA sucks, but I can't see cheat codes being a violation while game makers keep putting them in on purpose. Aren't they the ones writing code to do different things when we enter the codes in? What next, prison time for opening an easter egg in Word?

    Here's a link to the archived site, before it was taken down.

    1. Re:DMCA Violations by blincoln · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Really, though...the DMCA sucks, but I can't see cheat codes being a violation while game makers keep putting them in on purpose. Aren't they the ones writing code to do different things when we enter the codes in? What next, prison time for opening an easter egg in Word?

      The difference here is that they appear to be filing a suit against a hacking group that modified the actual program code of their games.

      This to me is an incredible abuse of the DMCA. Hacking a game is like modifying anything else you've bought. It's not like game hackers generally distribute the developer's code, just a set of instructions for modifying the code that is already sitting on other people's consoles or PCs.

      IMO this is the equivalent of a car manufacturer suing the makers of nitrous oxide systems or aftermarket body kits.

      I'm not even sure why they care anyway - when I had more free time, hacking games was in some ways more fun for me than actually playing them. I extended the play time of Soul Reaver to something like 500 hours because of my extensive hacking of the PC version, for example.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    2. Re:DMCA Violations by ThaReetLad · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well I personally believe this is a serious let off for people who use cheats in online gaming. I've been lobbying for a new amendment to castrate anyone caught using or creating cheats, so this seems rather tame. I'm just not sure it's a big enough deterrent/punishment.

      --
      You can't win Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
    3. Re:DMCA Violations by iainl · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The real complaint they have is the hacking around of Dead Or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball.

      Team Ninja made a blatently sexist load of shite where the main aim of the game is to win the money required to buy the skimpiest bikini for the digital women they spent so much time accurately recreating the chest-bouncing physics for.

      However, because they like to have some semblance of decency about what they do for a living, you never actually get to see anything, and they've got plausible deniability that it's really all about the volleyball.

      A bunch of fans decided that this was a silly copout, and 'fixed' that problem, thereby making them look as much a part of the dirty mac brigade as some had accused them of in advance. They found this offensive, and want to stop such things.

      Given how practically every female main character seems to attract 3rd-party nude patches, and their advertising campaign being entirely based around "Look, Girls!!!", it's hard to believe they didn't see it coming.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    4. Re:DMCA Violations by Wordsmith · · Score: 4, Informative

      Using copyright law is NOT an acceptable angle of attack on the cracks, as copyright shouldn't govern what the recipient of IP can do with it once it's received (beyond preventing redistribution).*

      THEre's nothing to stop the server operators from using any of the many anti-cheat tools to detect modified copies, and prevent them from taking part in network play. Use a technical solution, not a legal one.

      *I'm an anti-IP nut and don't believe ideas can be owned, so I don't believe in the concept of copyright anyway. But at least keep it consistent with its intended purpose.

    5. Re:DMCA Violations by rpdillon · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, it is they who are priviledged: priviledged to be able to put a product to market that they may or may not be lucky enough to have me actually PAY for.

      You've got everything backwards; they are at the consumer's mercy, not the other way around. You are correct that I do not "own" the software I "buy", but I own the right to use it, and you are incorrect when you say they can revoke it at any time. They cannot - when you buy the software, you have entered into an agreement. As soon as they take your money, they OWE you the right to play that game or use that piece of software. If it requires online access through one of their servers, they OWE you servers that are operational so you can use the product you paid them money for. And, in fact, I can do most anything I want with it, so long as it does not infringe on their rights granted by copyright law.

      Some licenses do mention "no reverse engineering". There are two main points to mention in that regard:
      1) Reverse engineering is a well recognized, legitimate activity within copyright law. Both copyright law itself, as well as the DMCA have exclusions for reverse engineering. Acting like it is a bad thing is absurd.
      2) Very few companies prohibit reverse engineering in the EULA (Blizzard is one that I know of that does prohibit it). This is because they know that reverse engineering is (generally) protected, so long as it does not facilitate unauthorized distribution of the software (hence, the DMCA).

      Lastly, to make an argument that someone should EXPECT for a EULA to contain wording that removes their rights, to which they should adhere, without ever SEEING the contract BEFORE the sale takes place is completely inane. This is a reflection of the *sad* state our copyright system has fallen into. You're a consumer, you should be fighting for your rights. As the adage goes, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The moment we (as a population) stop caring about our rights, is the moment they will be taken away.

      Do not forget:
      "Beware those who would deny you information,
      for in their hearts they dream themselves your master."

  2. Wonder who made those cheats in the first place... by deejaymaxx · · Score: 4, Funny

    IDDQD

    Now sue me.

  3. Take a stand! by mejesster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I hope at this point, some enterprising and idealistic lawyer will finally take a stand for the right of the individual to use and modify his property as he sees fit.

    --
    MacroHard - Boning you in a big way! (TM)
  4. "Now offline" by FirienFirien · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hooray for google. Click on the caches.

    --
    Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious
  5. Cheats? by cybathug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nowhere in TFA or the ninjahacker page (Even though I only skimmed it) are cheat codes mentioned. The article says "hacking into popular games... to change their codes" which doesn't have ANYTHING to do with cheating, sounds more like cracking/reverse engineering. You guys are exactly right in saying using the DMCA against cheat codes is ridiculous - hence why this has nothing to do with it.

  6. Another reason by Pan+T.+Hose · · Score: 4, Insightful

    to stop using proprietary software. There are a lot of amazing free software game projects that need our support (like e.g. WorldForge) that not only allow but in fact encourage hacking. Proprietary crap is good for uneducated people who want to have a one-size-fits-all black box. For thinking people who want to learn by tinkering, free software is the way to go.

    --
    Sincerely,
    Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
    "Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
    1. Re:Another reason by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What about those of us who just want to play a fun game?

      Sorry, but most open source games are just not very good. The ones that are fun, are almost without exception the ones that are just ripoff versions of commercial software.

      Have fun with your open source games; I like to play games with production value, which (unfortunately) limits me to commercial software. There are small commercial houses that produce cool stuff (Introversion, ChronicLogic), but even they are closed-source and commercial.

      Enjoy FrozenBubble while I go play Metroid Prime. Enjoy TuxRacer while I get down to Galactic Civilizations II. And we won't even start with MMOs.

      --

      ---
      Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
      (I read with sigs off.)
    2. Re:Another reason by Mant · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How the parent got modded as Insightful is beyond me. OK, the proprietary software = bad idea is popular on /. but that post is just daft.

      People, educated and otherwise, play games primarily to play the game. A very small subset like tinkering with them, hence the mod community for games, which is big, but very small compared to the total number of people playing games.

      I'm a coder, I write software for a living, but when I come home a play a game to unwind, I want to play a game. Generally I don't want to hack and tinker.

      I followed the WorldForge link, the status of the games listed was In Development, Deprecated, Planned, Future, Status is unknown. None actually listed as finished.

      Also, giving the quality of proprietary games vs free (as in speech) ones, I'm amazed at them being called "proprietary crap". Sure, some are crap, but all the really good games are proprietary too (although some have been copied by free versions). Not just good because of graphics either, but game play.

      If your principles really don't let you run any proprietary software, fair enough. But don't pretend that for the main purpose of games, playing them, free software offers much yet, and it certainly isn't close to the proprietary stuff.

    3. Re:Another reason by dasunt · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Sorry, but most open source games are just not very good. The ones that are fun, are almost without exception the ones that are just ripoff versions of commercial software.

      Amazingly, most of the commercial games that are fun are just ripoff versions of commercial software as well. :)

  7. Except as a legal test, this is an irrelevant case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you look at those caches, the greatest number of people on the site was 88 in mid-2003. The lawsuit is almost certainly designed to test the boundaries of the DMCA in courts, rather than to stop 20-odd people from fucking around with their DOA costumes.

  8. Sit back down. by Animaether · · Score: 3, Informative
    You already can't "use and modify" your property as you see fit.

    I.e. you can't drive your car at 200MPh - that is to say, you can. But it's against the law.

    You can't mod your car with a spoiler that's twice the width of your car - that is to say, you can. But it's against the law. At least driving on public roads with one is.

    What's being argued here, now, is that you can't hack the game and distribute the hack. That is to say, you can. But it may be against the law (the DMCA one).

    Btw.. the article referred to is rather short, and people seem to think this is about sharing cheat codes. Not quite.

    http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/02/09/news_61182 20.html


    Filed in the US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, on January 25, the lawsuit names Mike Greiling and Will Glynn as "creating, hosting and contributing content to a forum created to foster and facilitate the knowing infringement of Tecmo's proprietary software for its video game titles." The lawsuit claims the pair trafficked in technology designed for the purpose of circumventing copyright protection systems built into the games, which violates the US Copyright Act, among other laws.

    The complaint also addresses violations that include "various modifications to the source code for Tecmo games" including the creation of "several skins...designed to make Tecmo Characters appear naked." Games the alleged hackers are accused of applying their energy toward include Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and Dead or Alive Ultimate.
    1. Re:Sit back down. by kngthdn · · Score: 3, Insightful

      From the Slashdot article:

      This might ultimately affect the legality of cheat devices like the Game Shark and even the mere sharing of cheats or exploits.

      The other article might not make upsurd claims like that, but this one does!

    2. Re:Sit back down. by MooCows · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So?

      Of course you can drive your car at 200mph.. On a closed track.
      Just like having a massive spoiler is perfectly legal, unless you go out on the public road.

      There's (obviously) a big difference between "What you may do with your property" and "How you may use your property in the public area".

      Making a massive spoiler and selling it is perfectly legal.
      Hacking a game and distributing the hack should also be perfectly legal. (in a sane world)

      It becomes more complicated if you use a hack in a multiplayer game, which is a service with rules. Break those rules and you can lose the right to use the service. (makes sense)

      Getting sued for altering your own property in your own home is an abuse of the justice system.

      --
      The path I walk alone is endlessly long.
      30 minutes by bike, 15 by bus.
    3. Re:Sit back down. by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The keyword here probably is nude. Aren't those US lawyers fun ?

      Next time make a skin where they wear spacesuits.

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
  9. Hold on a sec... by zalas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I haven't been able to access the site, and the article doesn't say much, but how is hacking games to have new graphics breaking copy protection? Or is there another part of the DMCA they're using? Unless they were distributing hacks to disable CD checking, then maybe, but if they're just altering gameplay, how is that breaking copy protection? Heck, if the patches are done normally, they wouldn't even need to contain any copyrighted material.

  10. Re:Wonder who made those cheats in the first place by FluffyPanda · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They aren't being sued for the cheats, they are being sued for making skins (including a bunch of nude ones that TECMO doesn't seem to like) for these games.

    Apparantly they had to reverse engineer the games to make these skins and therefore they are being sued under the cover of the DMCA (natch).

    Personally I think it's a bitch that modifying something that you've paid for, to add value to it so that others are more likely to want to pay for it in the future is seen as a suable offence by TECMO. Bioware, Id, Valve and others make it as easy as possible to make mods since the community efforts can add considerable value to the product at zero cost to the developers.

    Counterstrike anyone?

  11. Re:Ignore the speculation of the article by Nuskrad · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The company specifically stated that one of the things they objected to was the custom skins availiable on the site. A spokesperson said the company is seeking $1,000 to $100,000 in damages for every custom skin swapped over the website. More information in this register article

  12. Re:Just to add to the flurry of jokes by kyojin+the+clown · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Ataris named a song after that cheat code. Are Konami going to sue The Ataris? Will the RIAA step in to protect their artists rights? What about Atari? Who are they going to sue?

    Oh God, I'm being sucked into a whirlpool of recursivity!

  13. Re:America's Army by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are nude skins for AA ???

    Eww.

    --

    May contain traces of nut.
    Made from the freshest electrons.
  14. Console games... by MagnusDredd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is one of the reasons I will never buy a console. Console games are geared to be throw-away games. i.e. You spend $50 on a FPS, and you are stuck with whatever maps the publisher sees fit to let you have. Even those games on the Xbox that have downloadable mods. Mods on Xbox live see: here are limited to publisher produced material. This means that you will never see a candyland map for Uneal Championship, or the gigantic burger joint map for that matter.

    I have a few hundred megs of Maps for games like Unreal Tournament, Doom 3, Red Faction, Starcraft, etc, etc, etc. that were created by fans. I have a friend who is really into Morrowind, which is over 3 years old, and mods that offer nudity, god mode, extra locations, extra equipment, skins, and anything else some fan has the imagination and inclination to produce. He has been playing this game off and on for 3 years... I'm still playing Neverwinter Nights.

    And for the game companies: attack your customers at your peril... We don't care about IP, we don't care whether you are too puritanical for nude skins, or whatever. A new game is a toy to us that will be used as we see fit. If you want to clamp down, many people simply won't buy from you. I sure as hell won't. And furthermore this makes me feel like I have made the right decision in avoiding the console market altogether.

  15. Contact Tecmo by neoThoth · · Score: 4, Informative

    We are the target market for these companies and you should take your outrage to them. Here is some contact info. Remember to be polite but firm :)

    Public Relations
    PublicRelations@tecmoinc.com

    Customer Service
    CustomerService@tecmoinc.com

    Game Counselor
    GameCounselor@tecmoinc.com

    Business Accounts
    BusinessAccounts@tecmoinc.com

    Public Relations
    PublicRelations@tecmoinc.com

    Corporate Opertunities
    Jobs@tecmoinc.com

    Webmaster
    Webmaster@tecmoinc.com

    Contact Us Via Snail Mail:
    Tecmo Inc.
    PO Box 5553
    21213-B Hawthorne Blvd.
    Torrance, CA 90503

    Contact Us Via Fax or Phone:
    Phone: 310.944.5005
    Fax: 310.944.3344

    Contact Us Via Email:
    Contact@tecmoinc.com